Directors Of Glasgow Film Fest Winner ‘The Home Game’ Discuss Crafting A Feel-Good Doc About Icelandic Soccer Underdogs

Naman Ramachandran British actor Sheyi Cole has a prominent role in Thea Sharrock’s Netflix original film “The Beautiful Game.” The film revolves around the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life. Cole plays Jason, a would-be ladies’ man given a sharp #MeToo education when he inappropriately comes onto sparky Mexican-American player Rosita (Cristina Rodio). “One thing that was great about Thea is that she was so hands on – any concerns that we had, she was willing to have conversations and was able to alleviate any concerns that we essentially had, surrounding that conversation with Jason,” Cole told Variety.

Coming off a well-deserved first-ever Oscar nomination, Bill Nighy has a new worthwhile movie to add to his highly impressive filmography. The Beautiful Game is, on its surface, another well-worn story of a ragtag team of misfits coming together for validation not just in their football (i.e. soccer) skills but, more importantly, in their lives. And even though we have seen countless underdog stories like this one set on a playing field, we actually haven’t seen one quite like this in terms of the welcome spotlight it puts on the homeless population among us. The timing is particularly pertinent as many major cities seem to a war going on with the homeless, a complete lack of empathy toward what gets a person to this point in life and a solution for lifting them out of it.

Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival will celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with an expansive retrospective titled The Lady with the Torch, mounted in collaboration with the studio’s parent company, Sony. 

Intishal Al-Timimi, the long-time director of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, is stepping down from the role he has held since the event’s launch in 2017 in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna.

The grieving parents of a cyclist killed in a horror lorry crash fear they will never have 'closure' as the driver escaped a prison sentence. Emma Newman died after being knocked down by Paul Mowat in Glasgow city centre on January 27 last year.

Guy Lodge Film Critic An assortment of familiar life-as-sport metaphors get a healthy workout in “The Beautiful Game,” a story of underdog athletes for whom winning may not be everything, though it’s a welcome distraction from greater obstacles. For many viewers, Thea Sharrock‘s cheery Netflix entertainment may serve as an introduction to the real-life event on which it’s based: the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life.

EXCLUSIVE: Level 33 Entertainment has taken domestic on H.P. Mendoza’s The Secret Art of Human Flight, which made its world premiere at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival. A July theatrical release has been set followed by a debut on digital platforms.

It’s been less than two months since the end of the 2024 edition, but this morning the Sundance Institute revealed the dates for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. This year’s event will run from Thursday, January 23 through Sunday, February 2nd.

King and Conqueror” has revealed additional cast members, including “The Crown’s” Luther Ford and “Game of Thrones” actor Joseph Mawle, as it begins production in Iceland. According to its official plot description, “King and Conqueror” is “the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea.

Halloween is coming early this year, as Blumhouse and AMC Theatres have partnered to launch the Halfway To Halloween Film Festival, which will take place at over 100 AMC theaters in 40 U.S. cities from March 29 to April 2.

Lise Pedersen Speaking to Variety ahead of her film’s world premiere at leading European doc fest CPH:DOX, Lisa Jackson was keen to emphasize that “Wilfred Buck” is what she calls a “feel-good story” despite addressing dark issues related to Canada’s colonial past. Written and directed by Jackson (“Biidaaban: First Light”), the film is a hybrid doc that follows the extraordinary life story of the eponymous charismatic science facilitator, an expert in Indigenous lore about astronomy, who overcame a harrowing history of displacement, racism and addiction by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony.

William Earl Variety will honor Molly Ringwald with the Variety Creative Vanguard Award at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, April 6. The award will be for her outstanding career achievements, earning acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In January, prolific songwriter Diane Warren received her 15th Academy Award nomination in the best song category for “The Fire Inside,” for the film “Flamin’ Hot,” directed by Eva Longoria. On March 10, Warren held onto her Oscar record in the category for more nominations without a single win when she lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for their “Barbie” song “What Was I Made For?” But Warren doesn’t have much time to wallow in self pity.

From the basement of dingy jam sessions in Akron, Ohio, to arena rock success, a multiplatinum career, and multiple Grammy wins, “This is a Film About The Black Keys” tracks the unlikely rise of one of rock’s biggest duos. Directed by Jeff Dupre (“Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History,” “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present”), the largely conventional rock doc doesn’t break the mold but engages, nonetheless, telling a captivating story of brotherhood, slow-grinding perseverance, weathering many personal storms, and the heavy tolls that success enacts.

Naman Ramachandran India premieres of France’s “The Taste of Things” and Korea’s “Exhuma” will open and close respectively the first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival. Tran Anh Hung won best director at Cannes 2023 for “The Taste of Things,” which was subsequently submitted as France’s official entry to the Oscars’ international feature category.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF, March 28-April 8) will open with the Asian premiere of All Shall Be Well, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung, which recently won the Teddy Award at Berlin film festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Brand management company Foundation Media Partners is leading development, packaging, and production on a new slate of projects for cheerleading and dance team company Varsity Spirit.

Christopher Vourlias Grasshopper Film has acquired North American distribution rights to “Holding Back the Tide,” Emily Packer’s meditation on New York’s oysters and their transformations in the face of an uncertain future. The film, which world premiered at DOC NYC last fall, plays this week at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

Viggo Mortensen really puts the word multi-hyphenate to good use for his second directorial effort The Dead Don’t Hurt as he also wrote, co-stars in and composes the music for this distinctive Western film, which played at the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this week after world premiering to critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival last year. 

EXCLUSIVE: Beta Film has picked up distribution rights to French thriller Homejacking, which is co-created by Lupin writer Tigran Rosine, and will launch sales at Series Mania.